


skin writer

by ghostscantdie



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: But it's set at some unspecified time in the future, Domestic Fluff, Don't look it up if you're squeamish tho. And don't read this fic lol, Fluff, Gen, It's a work in progress, Remus has Dermatographia, SPOILERS for the newest episode, Sides As Family (Sanders Sides), Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, They worked out their issues and started living together as a group, They're still learning to live together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24001744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostscantdie/pseuds/ghostscantdie
Summary: in which roman, remus, and deceit have a lazy morning together, and remus makes art with his skin. (and the author promises that it isn’t as gross as it sounds.)set during some unspecified time after deceit and remus have both been accepted as a part of the main group, but when they’re still learning to live together.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit Sanders, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 68





	skin writer

**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS!!!!  
> -Dermatographia is described in detail. Not in like, *extreme* detail, but it still might gross people out.  
> -Dermatographia is not life-threatening by any means, and at most tends to just be a nuisance, but it can be painful, and this is mentioned
> 
> Okay, if you don't think you're cool with that, turn back NOW. If you're not sure, read on, and I'll explain what it actually *is*.
> 
> -Dermatographia is usually characterized by a line of welts appearing after scratching your skin. This is why it's also referred to as "skin writing," as you can pretty easily write things out using the raised skin. Generally, the welts fade after about 15-30min. There isn't really any harm, except that it can be slightly painful, and in my experience its a kind of burning sensation. Like a rugburn, but not as bad, except when it's on your face (that shit hurts)
> 
> Okay, now that you understand that:  
> -Remus purposefully scratches his skin to make the welts form  
> -It's implied that Remus may have engaged in self-destructive behaviors in the past
> 
> sorry for all the warnings, but i just want to be careful since most people probably don't know what dermatographia is, lol. this story basically spawned from me thinking "hey, what if Remus had dermatographia?" b/c it's something that's mildly gross, but also something you can do creative things with. then it kind of evolved into something else. so it's more like a story about deceit, remus, and roman having a lazy morning together, and also remus has dermatographia, lol. anyways, all descriptions of dermatographia are based on my own personal experiences with it, and i apologize in advance for any glaringly obvious errors, as i wrote this at like 4am and was too impatient to read over it again.

When Roman entered the kitchen, he was surprised (and a little alarmed) to see Remus hunched over the counter, focused intently on something that was hidden to Roman by Remus’ back.

After a moment of hesitation, Roman spoke. “Good morning! I didn’t expect to see you up at this hour!”

When he didn’t respond, Roman moved a little closer, slightly concerned. “What are you doing there that has you so enrapt—GOOD GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM!!” Roman all but shrieked as he got a better look at what Remus had been doing.

“What’s got your dick in a twist?” Remus asked, scrunching his face in such an exaggerated manner that Roman knew the question was not a hostile one, despite Remus’ surprisingly flat tone. He didn’t bother looking up as he paused in his drawing. Instead he looked at his arm, consideringly for a moment before shrugging to himself and continuing to dig another long, curling line into the skin with his fork.

Roman was surprised to see that Remus was not drawing blood, and relaxed slightly. It was impossible for any of them to truly get physically hurt from anything in the mindscape, but it was still unpleasant to watch. “What are you doing?” Roman asked again.

“Drawing,” Remus replied. And so he was. Roman watched in a sort of stunned silence as the invisible line Remus had traced along his arm with the tip of the fork pressed into his skin turned a slightly alarming shade of red before gradually turning into a line of raised skin. A welt formed, perfectly matching the line Remus had so carefully drawn. The rest of his arm had similar lines of raised skin, and as Remus continued to draw, he saw that the curving lines of welts were in fact depictions of tentacles, curling around and grasping Remus’ arm, a fact he had not at first noticed due to the rather grotesque medium Remus had chosen.

Roman continued to watch in disturbed fascination until Remus finally threw aside the fork, grinning, and looked up at him for the first time during their entire interaction. Remus thrust his arm in Roman’s face. “Whaddya think? Neat, huh?” Remus preened, looking positively delighted when Roman flinched back a little in disgust.

“While I’ll admit it’s rather… impressive, especially considering the level of detail despite the, er, limitations of the medium, I have to ask… How exactly are you doing that? Are you okay?”

Remus took in a deep breath and opened his mouth. “WELL—” he loudly began, before abruptly slapping a hand across his mouth. His eyes widened and curved into a smile at something behind Roman.

Roman turned around and saw Janus shuffling into the kitchen, still apparently in his sleepwear (a pair of pajama pants with tiny little yellow snakes on them that Roman recognized as a gift from Patton for Janus’ “birthday,” and a pink t-shirt that seemed a size too big for Janus that Roman was almost certain was in fact Remus’. It read: “YES I SMELL LIKE A HORSE. NO I don’t consider that a problem”).

Although the six of them had all started living together a while ago, Roman still felt like he was witnessing something incredibly private when Janus was in this state. Rumpled pajamas, hair askew, eyes half shut as he fumbled for coffee—he looked exceedingly vulnerable. Perhaps it was a testament to how much closer and more comfortable they had all gotten with each other that Janus was willing to appear so unkempt in front of Roman in the first place. When Janus and Remus had first moved in, Janus would get up absurdly early to avoid the rest of them in the morning, refusing to allow them to see him in anything other than the outfit he usually wore for work, much less in his pajamas. He denied these efforts, instead claiming he was “simply a morning person” and that he “preferred to wear only this outfit every day, thank you very much.” Clearly, these were both lies, if his current appearance in front of Roman, as disheveled as he was, was any indication.

“It’s too fucking early for you to be talking so loudly,” Janus grumbled, and released his hold on Remus. He yawned and shuffled towards the cabinet where they kept the ground coffee.

“G’morning, Jaybird!” Remus chirruped. “I already made coffee for you!”

Janus blinked blearily at Remus for a moment before what he said registered. “Ah. Thanks,” he mumbled, as Remus poured him a nearly overflowing mug and nearly shoved it into his hands. Janus raised the mug to his lips, but hesitated. “You didn’t put salt in it again, did you?”

Remus grinned. “It’s a surpriiise!” he said, emphasizing with jazz hands.

Janus shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. Now slightly more alert, he glanced over at Remus. “Oh, Remus, I like the new skin art. The eyeballs are a nice touch.”

“They are, aren’t they? Thank you!!!” Remus exclaimed, doing a little twirl but grinning so widely Roman thought it would nearly split his face.

“Right, Remus, you were going to explain the whole… skin… art… thing before Janus showed up,” prompted Roman. Janus didn’t seem too concerned, but it was also difficult to get Janus to show much concern for anything before he had had coffee.

“Oh yeah!” He said. “I have this thing—dermographia?”

“Dermatographia,” Janus corrected, mumbling into his mug.

“Right! That!! Basically, it makes it so when I rub or scratch my skin, it makes these welts, see?” He said, once again shoving his arm in Roman’s face. “They look a bit like worms crawled underneath my skin and are trying to escape, huh?”

“I suppose so,” Roman laughed. He looked at Remus’ arm again, hand raised to inspect more closely. He glanced at Remus, silently asking for permission. Remus nodded, and Roman brushed his hand lightly over the welts, some of which appeared to be beginning to fade.They felt hot to the touch.

“Does it hurt?” Roman asked hesitantly.

“Yup! It feels like my skin is on fire!!”

Roman abruptly let go of Remus’ arm as if it had burned him. “Remus!”

“Pffft,” Remus scoffed. “You’re as bad as Virgil, sometimes, honestly. It happens whether I want it to or not, so I got used to it. Doesn’t bother me much, so I might as well take advantage of it. Besides, it goes away pretty quickly. See?”

The tentacles Remus had drawn had almost faded away completely, but the eyes and other extra details were still there in bits and pieces, to the point where the welts on his arm didn’t look as much purposeful as they did unnatural. Roman furrowed his brow, still concerned.

Janus spoke up from the corner of the kitchen, where he had been quietly drinking his coffee and watching the two brothers. “Trust me, Roman. This is probably one of the less self-destructive habits he’s developed over the years, which is why I, quite frankly, encourage it. Besides, you have to admit, there’s something rather romantic about turning yourself into a work of art, albeit an impermanent one.” He paused for another sip. “Insert some sort of wise observation about the impermanence of all things here. I’m not awake enough to think, yet.”

Roman shared a look with his brother and went to pour himself a cup of coffee.

“I don’t think you’ll like the coffee very much, Roman,” Janus warned.

“Huh? Why not?” Roman asked, confused. Janus had drunk the coffee and been fine, so Roman had assumed it hadn’t been infected with salt or otherwise poisoned.

“It’s not salt today. It’s chili powder.”

“Dingdingding!! Double D is correct!” 

“...Ah,” Roman said, weakly. “Of course.” He set the mug he had just poured back down on the counter, where it was promptly snatched up by Janus, who proceeded to down half of it. He grinned smugly at Roman.

Roman stuck out his tongue. “Both of you are disgusting. I’m making my own damn coffee.”

Janus shrugged, still smiling, though it was softer, now. “Suit yourself. When you’ve lived with Remus for as long as I have, you start to develop a taste for it. I’m not sure if I prefer coffee with or without salt at this point.” He glanced over at Remus and they caught each other’s eyes. “Though I’m sure we can both agree that garlic does not belong in coffee,” he said with a sly smile.

To Roman’s surprise, Remus actually looked a bit sheepish. “Definitely not my best work. I didn’t think Virgil was ever going to forgive me.”

“...I’m not even sure if I want to know.”

“Probably not,” Janus said.

“Maybe we can tell you about it when Virgil is around,” Remus snickered into his mug. “It’s much more entertaining when he’s there to get embarrassed by it.”

**Author's Note:**

> [this](https://www.magicexhalation.com/products/horse-shirts-for-women-yes-horse-girl-funny-horse-shirts-standard-women-s-t-shirt-464?variant=31489818492988) is the shirt janus was wearing btw
> 
> for now i'm leaving this as a one-shot, but i might write more in the same setting, because tbh all i want is for them to be FRIENDS and there is shocking lack of feel-good friend fluff in this fandom.
> 
> speaking of. idc if you ship characters! but this is all written as purely platonic!!! so i'd appreciate it if y'all could leave any shipping out of the comment section (unless it's friend-shipping :p )
> 
> thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!!


End file.
